Healthy Moms- Parenting, Pregnancy, Health and Women's Issues

Original Sprout: Worry Free Luxury for Your Hair and Skin

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:02:37 PST

I recently tried Inga Tritt's all natural Original Sprout Miracle Detangler, Shampoo and Scrumptios Body Lotion. My three year old daughter loved how soft her hair felt after we washed it with the shampoo. I was also pleased with the light and refreshing fragrance. The detangler works great at getting out even the toughest snarls. My daughter's long thin hair tends to get knotted pretty easily.

We also loved the smooth silky body lotion. I couldn't get enough of it! The best part of Original Sprout products is that they are all natural and contain zero parabens, so I know I am not causing damage to my skin and hair or my child's.

Original Sprout products are:

Created by a master stylist and mother so they bridge the gap between safety and salon performance
Free of phthalates, phytoestrogens, soy, gluten, parabens, and propylene glycol with no added dioxanes or formaldehydes.
free of skin penetrators and photosensitizers.
Extracts are certified organic. The majority of ingredients are plant derived and from natural sources.
E.U. Directive Compliant with full label disclosure of ingredients.
Fragrances are made with naturally derived ingredients and are certified FREE of phthalates, lavender, tea tree, PG, DPG, paraebens, dioxanes, benzenes, formaldehydes, acetaldehydes, styrene, toluene, chlorobenzene and glycol ethers.
Products are vegetarian/vegan and biodegradable.

You can purchase Original Sprout products at Original Sprout.com or find them in your local grocery store, drug store or big box store. If you make a purchase online today use the code FIRST_ORDER_10-U at the checkout to get 10% off your first order.

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New Book Discusses How Hormones Have an Impact on Women's Health

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:20:43 PST

Dr. Alicia Stanton, the Chief Medical Officer of BodyLogicMD, the nation's largest and fastest growing network of anti-aging physicians has released a brand new book, titled, Hormone Harmony: How to Balance Insulin, Cortisol, Thyroid, Estrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone to Live Your Best Life.

Along with co-author and veteran health writer, Vera Tweed, Dr. Stanton explains how men and women can achieve optimal health as they age by balancing hormones through eating right and lifestyle changes.

"I have dedicated my practice to not only treating patients suffering hormonal imbalances, but helping patients achieve and maintain optimal health as they age," said Dr. Stanton. "We are living longer but ultimately more stressful lives. In the wake of the economic downturn, most of us literally can't afford to 'take it easy.' We have challenging careers and are multitasking as caregivers for our children and aging parents. All of these factors take a tremendous toll on our bodies, and the combination results in a disruption of hormonal balance."

The chapters are helpful and discuss a variety of issues that can effect your hormones and overall health. They explain how our diet can lead to hormonal imbalance. Consuming too much sugar, soda, trans fats and empty calories is also damaging to your hormones and can lead to serious health issues.

As a busy mother of four very active children I found the chapter on stress especially helpful. I have a hard time dealing with stressful situations. Dr. Stanton explains how our bodies react to stress and why this happens in the chapter, "Stress Less."

"The human body's stress response is designed to be an asset. It enables us to muster our resources, physically and mentally, to overcome danger or other, unexpected challenges. Our entire system goes on alert and, temporarily, functions at peak capacity. If you've ever scaled an inhospitable mountain or gone the proverbial extra mile to accomplish some seemingly impossible task, your body's stress response helped you succeed. However, that same stress response becomes a liability when it's activated for long periods of time or becomes chronically jammed in high gear."

"In times of stress, the body produces extra cortisol. If this happens for a short period followed by recovery, a healthy person will be able to take it in stride, but if it becomes an ongoing situation, the extra cortisol production throws other hormones out of balance. In addition, the adrenal glands, which produce cortisol, can become overworked, eventually leading to adrenal fatigue. At that point, the adrenal glads are unable to produce adequate cortisol, resulting in persistent low levels of energy, especially in the morning, and possibly other symptoms, including unexplained weight gain or loss, respiratory problems and a predisposition to other illnesses.

Exercising regularly and taking supplements are also very important in achieving a healthy hormonal balance.

Below is a video featuring Dr. Stanton discussing bio identical hormone therapy.

Is your lifestyle disrupting your hormones?

What are bio identical or natural hormones?

Are they safe?

Do you need them?

Hormone Harmony answers these questions for women of all ages, and includes a special section for men. You can purchase this book for $19.43 at Alibris. A world of independents. Over 100 million books, music, & movies., or win it by leaving a comment at the end of this article.

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For every entry including extra entries please leave a separate comment. Winners will be chosen randomly from the comments and e mails that I receive. The contest ends on November 23, 2009 at midnight PST.

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Your Stats Don't Matter, Your Blog Does - Mom Bloggers Club [Digg]

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:05:16 PST

By Jennifer James, FounderMom Bloggers ClubI am a great believer in this notion: If you are incessantlypreoccupied with your stats you will fall further and furtherbehind.My husband, who was a middle distance runner in college, told mehis coach once said When in a race,

Green Tea May Help Prevent Oral Cancer [Digg]

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:29:10 PST

THURSDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) -- A new study appears to add to growing evidence that green tea might help protect against cancer.U.S. researchers gave 41 volunteers with pre-malignant mouth lesions green tea extract for three months

Green.Indy.com | Family mission: Give back to Earth | Indian [Digg]

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:16:16 PST

Jodi Green is a woman on a mission. Her familys efforts to help make the planet a little greener have taken off and people are taking notice, she said.After the birth of her first child in 2004, she and her husband, Brian, began studying ways to save money while stepping up their commitment to recycling.

Too Many Treats?

noreply@blogger.com (Debi Silber, "The Mojo Coach") — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:52:14 PST

First, I hope you had a wonderfully fun Halloween and that your kids enjoyed dressing up and seeing all of their friends in costume. Now that the excitement has settled, you may be faced with a huge pile of candy and wondering what to do with it. Maybe you are thinking, "They're kids, it can't be THAT bad for them."

Let me share some frightening statistics from the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity (a problem so large that it has its own Journal!)

Childhood obesity is the greatest health risk our kids face today
By the year 2010 (that's next year) it is expected that 50% of all children will be overweight
This is the first generation where kids have a lower life expectancy than their parents

We're spending billions of dollars on healthcare and our kids are unhealthier than ever. What's going on here?

One things that's going on is that the average American child's diet consists of one third junk food. Snacks, candy and other prepackaged foods, desserts filled with far and sugar make up a large portion of their daily intake. And I'm not just talking about special occasions like Halloween and Christmas. This is every day. All day.

The "food" that kids are eating is nutrient void but dense in calories. The lowest quality calories that you can find. These are the choices that are placed at a child's eye level in the grocery store, and not by accident. Ads for these high-sugar, high-fat, low-nutrition foods air during your children's favorite TV shows. The commercials for these foods are filled with bright colors, music, action and the promise of something special.

An additional issue is that, as a nation, we are suffering from "portion distortion", and this includes our children. They are learning to super-size, and purchase "economy size" and "value sized" meals themselves. They are constantly being bombarded with unhealthy food choices and learning that "bigger is better."

And then the problems of low-quality, high-volume eating are compounded by an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. Think back to when you were a kid. Chances are you played outside with the neighborhood kids after school until it became dark. Kids today come home from school and many of them spend the rest of the afternoon and evening in front of the TV or a computer screen.

So here's a troubling equation for you:

Sedentary Lifestyle + High Fat/High Sugar Foods + Huge Portions = Overweight Kids

Now some kids have the opposite problem, instead of being sedentary, these kids have no down-time at all. They're being shuffled from one activity to the next day in and day out. What are they eating during all of this "shuffle time"? For many moms, the easiest solution is either grabbing fast food to eat on the run, or grabbing some snacks for the kids to eat in the car. See where I'm going here?

In our well-meaning attempts to give the best to our children, we push the limits until the only possible way to get everything done is to cut corners. These corners frequently impact the food choices we make (for ourselves and our kids) when our lives become hectic and out of control.

So another bad news equation (we seem to be on a math kick!):

Overbooked Kids + Overstressed Moms + Convenience Foods = Overweight/Overstressed Kids

Let me give you an embarrassing example of overplanning gone horribly wrong.

Before I understood the importance of a sane lifestyle, downtime and reduced stress, I had my kids enrolled in anything I could sign up for. From the minute they finished school until the minute they were all sleeping, every minute was planned. We had to be at a game, practice, or event every evening, often doing homework in the car on the way. Very often I'd have at least one of my four children crying because they just wanted to be home playing.

One day, I grabbed some chicken nuggets to "feed" them during our shuffling. As we drove from one activity to the next, I started flinging chicken nuggets over my shoulder to my kids in the middle and back rows of my SUV. I was in a panic because we were running late, and the kids were crying because they were tired from all of the running around, and my aim was so bad that no one could "catch" their dinner as it flew past! When I finally took a moment to think about it, I cringed at my behavior.

That was my daughter's last day of soccer practice. She doesn't miss it and we haven't veered back into that overplanned life since.

Take a look at how your lifestyle impacts your kids and see if it's contributing to the development of unhealthy habits. Consider making changes that make healthy choices and a sane lifestyle part of the plan for everyone in the family. From stocking the snack cabinet with healthy choices, to making a plan to sit down as a family for a real dinner on a regular basis, to planning activities that get you all away from the TV for a few hours, you can make sure your kids start off on the right foot building a healthy lifestyle.

Do you have some examples of how you have worked to build healthier habits into your family routine? Any tips for keeping the holidays fun without an overload of treats? Please comment or drop me a note to share your thoughts - I always love to hear from you!

Debi Silber, "The Mojo Coach"
www.TheMojoCoach.com

Start receiving your free gifts!*A special report on weight loss *1 year of weekly email tips about nutrition, weight loss, fitness, stress control, emotional health, relationships and spirituality *A subscription to Mojo Moments, a bi-monthly newsletter written just for moms All FREE at www.TheMojoCoach.com

Are You There God? It's me, Sheila. [Digg]

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:21:28 PST

Hey God, how are thangs?I was over at Momisodes the other day reading her post about her daughter starting preschool. How her attitude is changing and she's getting a little feisty. I got to thinking about when my oldest started preschool, like many years ago considering she's now in

Five-Minute Survey Can Help Predict Lung Cancer - Health Pro [Digg]

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:51:49 PST

A simple questionnaire can identify patients at high risk for lung cancer, researchers say.In a study that began in 2001 with 1,000 people in Colorado who were seeing their primary care physician for general health issues, patients were asked to complete a five-minute questionnaire that collected information about lung cancer risk factors

Wordless Wednesday | Halloween Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:42:36 PST

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Lose Fat, Get Stronger

jacqgradish@hotmail.com (Jacqueline) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:26:00 PST

So how do you lose excess body fat from pregnancy? Get Stronger. That's right you need resistance to lose fat . Why is this- well because of EPOC or Oxygen debt. Whatever fancy word you use it works. When you perform resistance training you will build muscle tissue which has a higher metabolic rate at rest than any other tissue in the body. When you perform anaerobic resistance training (push yourself to your heart rate limit) you are using so much oxygen that you heart rate and respiration will stay slightly elevated after you workout which again is the same as a higher resting metabolic rate. You will burn more calories in the long run from performing resistance training for these 2 reason. If you perform cardio and the machine says you have burned 200 calories in 30 minutes- great but that's it, nothing else. If you perform 20 minutes of resistance training and burn 150 calories- you will likely burn another 200 calories or more throughout the day due the effects of that resisitance workout. That just makes sense- workout less and burn more calories. Simple workout plans yielding real results- get over your cardio plateau. Baby Bump Busy Mom Fitness.

Jacqueline Gradish
Baby Bump Fitness

Potty Time Tuesday | Five Tips for Potty Training Success

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:01:30 PST

Are you potty training your child but getting frustrated with the process? Sometimes kids are stubborn and parents expect too much. Below are a few tips that will help you potty train your little one.

1. Get your child used to his potty chair. Have him sit on it with his clothes on. Once he is ready you can show him how he is supposed to go potty.

2. Use cotton training pants and plastic pants instead of disposables. Disposable training pants are very absorbent and your child might not be able to tell if she is wet. Accidents are okay and will help her learn better.

3. Praise your child for going potty or even for just sitting. Parents can not praise their children too much. A few positive words from you will get your child excited about going potty.

4. Be consistent. If you think your child should go potty after he wakes up in the morning make sure you put him on the potty every morning.

5. Never give up. Some children may take a while to become a master of the potty. Don't give up. Keep trying and before you know it she will say goodbye to diapers forever.

Did you find this information helpful? If you are looking for more ideas on how to potty train your child visit the Healthy Moms Guide to Potty Training.

Are you potty training your child? Maybe you have some potty training tips you would like to share with your readers. If so join us every Tuesday for Potty Time Tuesdays and don't forget to leave your link!

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The 12 Days of Christmas Prize List

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:15:13 PST

We are so excited about the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway event! Below you shall find the list of prizes so far.

A Copy of the bestselling book, Life Simplified, by Leslie Gail.
Spell Quizzer Spelling Software
$50 Gift Certificate to 1-800-Baskets
Just You and Me Kid fitness DVD for parents and children
I See Me personalised book for children

If you are interested in donating a prize for the giveaway event please contact me with your prize details.

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Hooray for Giveaways! | 11/2 - 11/9

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:08:41 PST

It's time again to celebrate giveaways! List yours here or if you want to enter one they are just a click away.

Giveaways Here at Healthy Moms

Visit Healthy Moms every day to enter to win a new appliance from GE!

Human Body Detectives Giveaway enter to win the first workbook and audio CD in this new series for kids. Your children will learn all about healthy eating habits and how the digestive system works in the Great Escape. Contest ends 11/9.

Giveaway Winners
Exederm Winner

Lisa said...
November 1, 2009 11:48 AM

I follow your blog on twitter.

Congratulations, Lisa. I will be in touch with you to get your mailing address.

I had to chose a new winner for the Snaxx Recipe Box. The new winner is...

Angela G said...
October 25, 2009 9:03 PM

I follow your blog.
Congratulations, Angela. I will be in touch with you to get your mailing address.

12 Days of Christmas Button Winner

HOT Giveaways across the web

Ford - We Race. You Win. Sweepstakes
Grand Prize (awarded from First Prize winners): 2010 Ford Fusion (ARV $34,000).
First Prizes (dependant upon the number of winning Ford Racing drivers): 5-day/4-night trip for two to Miami, FL, attend auto races, rental car and $300 cash (ARV $4,000).
Bonus Prize: Dinner, personal Fusion test-drive, and a November 2009 Miami trip (ARV $2,000).
Monthly Prizes (10 - 1 per month): Prizes TBA (ARV $100).

Lifetime - Make It Work Sweepstakes
Grand Prize: $25,000, 3-night trip for two to New York City, NY, L'Oréal and Garnier gift basket, $250 a day for expenses awarded as a gift card, and an opportunity for winner to have lunch with Tim Gunn (ARV $29,750).
Weekly Prizes (13 - 1 per week): $1,000 check and a L'Oréal and Garnier gift basket (ARV $1,250).

Parenting Magazine - Nutrition to Grow & Play Sweepstakes
Enter to win a $4,500 savings bond that will grow along
with your child.

Nonni's Food Company - Broadway! New York Style Second Chance Drawing Sweepstakes
Grand Prize: 3-day/2-night trip for four to New York City, NY, via Continental Airlines; includes tickets to two Broadway shows of winner’s choice and $1,000 spending money (ARV $5,750).
First Prizes (10): 3-day/2-night trip for two to New York City, NY, via Continental Airlines; includes tickets to a Broadway show of winner's choice and $750 spending money (ARV $2,850).
Second Prizes (100): Broadway show poster, original Broadway show soundtrack CD, and Broadway show hat (ARV $75).

Community Green Energy - The Solar Roof Sweepstakes
Prize: 1 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric system, which includes a 1 kilowatt solar panel, converter box, mounting hardware suitable for roof mounting on standard shingle roof, and all necessary wiring (ARV $6,500-$8,000).

CMT - On Tour with Taylor Sweepstakes
Prize: 1-night trip for two to a 2010 Taylor Swift concert nearest winner's residence (ARV $1,250).

Swanson Health Products - Healthy Foods Recipe Contest
Monthly Prize: Choice of $100 Swanson Health Products gift certificate or 5-piece set of Mercola cast iron cookware.
Qualifying recipes will receive a $5 gift certificate redeemable at Swanson Health Products.

Everyday Health - Start Something Good with Lipton Sweepstakes
Prize: One-hour session with a certified life coach (ARV $250).

Thrifty Jinxy - Silk Heart Health Giveaway
Prize: Silk Heart Health Soymilk free product coupon and pedometer.

Girlgetstrong - Genuine Health Giveaway
Prize: Genuine Health gift basket with Vegan proteins+, greens+ Hip to be Healthy Squares, o3mega+ joy, multi+ daily joy, healthy skin chocolate chews and kleen kanteen bottle (ARV $150).

Brimful Curiosities - Kaskey Kids Giveaway
Prize: Choice of sports action figure set from Kaskey Kids.

My Charmed Life - Yoplait Kids Giveaway
Prizes (2): Prize Pack including Coupon for Free 6 Pack of Yogurt, Travel Cooler, Color Changing Spoon, Reusable Snack Mat and Fuzzy Tangle Toy.

Other Places to List Your Giveaway

MONDAY:

TUESDAY:

Mom Advice

WEDNESDAY:

Frugal Freebies and Deals
Busy Mommy

Whimsy *couture* Boutique

THURSDAY:

FRIDAY:

The Mud Bug

SATURDAY:

SUNDAY:

Moomette's Magnificents
The Freebie Blogger

ONGOING:

Other Great Giveaway Sites

Mom Bloggers Club
Cafe Mom
Mom Fuse
Sweeps4Bloggers
Contest for Moms
SweepsAdvantage.com
Online-sweepstakes.com

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Prayer Chain Across the Blogosphere Week 36

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:03:27 PST

I again would like to thank everyone for participating in the prayer chain. If you are new to this below you shall find what you can do to help spread the prayer chain and how you can add your prayers. I update the list every Sunday. Please help spread the prayer chain because I should be getting hundreds of new prayers every week. If you know anyone who is in need of prayers pleas add them to the list. If you have any updates on the prayers that are listed let me know by leaving a comment.

If you want to pass this prayer chain along on your blog all you need to do is add the prayer chain button and blog about this once a week. Ask your readers to post their prayer intentions as comments. Then you can either contact us with your prayer request, or post them as a comment on the prayer chain. You can also direct your readers here so they can post their prayer intentions directly to our site. If you intend to list prayers on your site please add your link so we can find those prayers.

I should have hundreds of comments from people that need prayers. I know they are out there. When you say your prayers at night, in the morning, or whenever you pray visit our chain and read the intentions. God is listening.

Here's the latest list.

The mother with the child with Asperger's and Asthma and her son.
_____________________________________________________________________________

For my health, the health of my unborn baby and all pregnant women and their unborn babies throughout the world.
______________________________________________________________________________

Please pray for Baby Stellan. You can visit the link for current updates on how he and his mom are doing.

Update
Baby Stellan was released from Boston's Children's Hospital after undergoing successful surgery on his tiny heart. He and his mother are back home in the mid west. God answers our prayers!

Update 6/18/2009

UPDATE:

Hey, it's MckMama here. Thank you all so very much for your love and concern. We are doing as well as could be hoped, with the exception that sweet Stellan is suffering much from being in so much SVT over the past few days. Thankfully, after I fed him just now, he has finally fallen asleep for literally the first time today.

I will update here when I can, and am sending out a few Tweets here and there so you know specifically how to pray.

ORIGINAL POST:

Hi all, this is MckMama's sister, Hilary.

My sister ended up taking Stellan to the ER this afternoon. As I'm sure you know, Stellan has been having many break-throughs of SVT and performing vagel maneuvers just isn't going to suffice anymore for Stellan's long-term plan.

After a bit of trying, they were able to get an IV into Stellan's foot and successfully converted him by using adenosine. As per Dr. B's orders, they are admitting Stellan into the PICU and will further decide what to do from here. It seems as though some new combination of medicines will need to be tried to keep Stellan's SVT under control.

UPDATE: I just spoke with my sister on the phone (6:30pm central time) and Stellan has flipped back into SVT.

So please join me in praying for healing of Stellan's heart and for peace in the hearts of my sister and her family as they deal with this stressful situation.

Lord, wrap your arms around my sister and her family. Fill them with peace and trust as they travel through this "storm." You are our Comfort, our Shelter and our Healer. We beseech you, Lord, to interevene right now and cause Stellan's heart to beat in the rhythm it was meant to! Help us to keep our eyes focused on You. Amen.

Thank you all!
Blessings,
Hilary

Update 11/1/2009

Stellan is now a year old but is still battling SVT. Here is the latest from MckMama

Sunday morning check in
My husband and the other kids are at church this morning and will be in later. I don't have much time to update right now, and am only sending Tweets from my phone every now and then. Wanted to pop in quick and let you know briefly how Stellan has been doing.

He's still in the PICU and will not be heading to the step down unit anytime soon. He began to have breakthrough SVT yesterday a couple of hours after his IV Esmolol was completely turned off. Stellan has been in and out of SVT, but thankfully nothing terribly sustained at this point. So he is holding up well, feeling playful (and tired) this morning in fact. Read more.

_____________________________________________________________

Comments from readers

"My grandson is on his way back from Iraq and I'm praying for him to return safely. He is due back in the states on January 6th and I'll breathe relief when he's back.

This was his second seven month tour in Iraq as a marine.."

Dorothy from grammology

1>Gracie Martin-age 95,still at home with her family but she has gotten very ill and alzheimers is bad.pray for her family as well.

2.>Pray for my friend linda s.,she is 45 and has lung cancer.She is still trying to work and spend as much time with her 3 grandkids as she can...

3.>Dorothy carter-hurt her back at work and they found what they thought may be tumors on her back during xrays-she is 43 and just had her first grandbaby

4.>Rita b.-strength to be a single mom of 3 and a way to come so that they can get a vehicle for the family.

5.>johnny n.-health problems

6.betty r~simply southern-to get rid of this awful congestion in my chest.been fighting it 2 weeks..little summer also has this,it is rough on her at times.she is only 6 mos old.thank you"

Betty from Simply Southern

"I have one to list..

The family of Barbara C. She just lost her battle with cancer."

Felicia from Go Graham Go!

"i'd also like to add my prayer...

please pray for the soul of Al my neighbor (15 yrs old) who passed away last saturday. (January 10) he had bone marrow cancer."

Liza from hMoms... Check Nyo

"What a great thing you are doing here.

My aunt has a best friend who just got a bad cancer report."

Thanks,
Toni
It Is Nap Time

Update from Toni
Just wanted to say that my aunts friend has found a study that will take her so that is some good news.

I would like to add my moms cousin who has cancer and is not doing well at all. Her name is Mandy. She has a 2 year old and I am sure she would appreciate all prayers for her and her family.

"You are a person with a warm heart!

I want pray for all people who still live in the disaster area of China WenChuan earthquake, Hope they all have warm place to live and warm food to eat!

It's the first Chinese new spring festival after earthquake, I hope they have a happy new year!"

IWalk

"Hi Cascia. I'm the one who won the labor looks gown from your contest. Our baby was born on January 7th, and he is doing really well. But my labor and delivery did not go as planned or as we'd hoped, and I ended up with a partial 4th degree tear from an emergency forceps delivery, other wounds from 4 hours of intense pushing more than 36 hours after my water broke, and an infected abcess/hematoma in the same spot along the tear site. More than 3 weeks after my son's birth, several heavy-duty medications and 3 surgical procedures later, I am just now "out of the woods". But recovery is going to be very slow, and the emotional struggle is starting to get intense now that the physical struggles have lessened. In a week, my mom will be heading home, and I'll be on my own while my husband works. Normally, that would be okay, but with the unique issues from my complications, it is going to be hard. (I can't even sit or walk properly. And certain muscles in that area will need physiotherapy to get back to normal functioning.) Basically, I need healing of body and mind, as well as the ability to fully care for my son and somehow do household things that my husband cannot do with his schedule. (He does a ton and is the best, but his energy and time don't allow for taking care of my entire load.)

My other struggle right now is being able to see and feel all the zillions of positive and good things happening around me right now, and I seem stuck on the negative. I do see God's hand prints all over this situation, especially in the way my maternity doctor has cared for me both physically and spiritually, going above and beyond the normal role of medical physician. So there are many "Ebenezers" I see and cherish. But this journey is still hard, and sometimes finding Jesus beside me in all of this is not easy.

Thank you for praying."

Inkling's Public Blog

Hi, I was wondering if you could add my brother-in-law in your prayers. He found out a couple of weeks ago that he has prostate cancer.

Thanks.

Sue from Stay At Home Mom

Comments from message box

"Hi Cascia, my 60-year-old 2nd-brother has been in ICU since 30Dec08. Chances are 50/50. Let's pray that he will make it thru. Jus me, Wenny of Inside My Bubble Today."
Please pray for Wenny's family. Her brother passed away on January 7.

Hi,I am a mother of 2 boys, Sometimes I'm just overwhelmed with motherhood and most of the time I'd be stressed. Please pray for me.Thank you.

Anonymous (guest): I feel selfish asking for prayers for myself! I am a single Mom with 2 young children with disabilities. I lost my job last year and now my home is going into foreclosure. I am overwhelmed and could use your support and prayers to get me through this! Thank you!

APrayingWifey (guest): Hello..I would like prayer please for a miracle for my husband..as well as for my children,my family and myself.Also would like prayer to find more like minded,God filled friends who love God and their family like I do.I am overwhelmed..new to the blogging thing and nervous..as well as needing prayer for the rest of the attorney fees asap..

If you have prayers you want to add to the prayer chain please leave a comment or message me in the prayer chain box.If you want to promote the prayer chain on your blog all you need to do is blog about it along with our list of prayers and a link back here. You can use the button code to link back to the prayer chain. I made a new button so if you have the old one on your site you might want to grab the new code. When you are saying your prayers at night or whenever you pray don't forget to add the intentions on the Healthy Moms prayer chain.

Visit these blogs to read more prayers across the blogosphere.

Of Course I Could Be Wrong Prayer List
Palm Sunday Catholics and Anglicans Share Prayer
Catholic Fire Prayer Needed for Esther
Sunday Prayer
A Prayer for Palm Sunday
Pray for Christian Jason M.
Pray for Haiti
Pray for Charity

Pray for Summa Mamas
Pray for Farmers
Pray for Ryan
Pray for Becca's Husband
Pray for this girl suffering from depression
Please pray for 7-year old Yair Tuvia ben Michal
Please pray for Jack Cooper's Mother, Mrs. Heinz
Pray for Jerry Kelso's Family
Please Pray for Carter

Please Pray for Emily and Baby Abigail!
Pray for Erin
Pray for KAMERYN HEMBREE You can also visit her Facebook page for more information. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=70157358667&ref=ts
Please pray for a mother and her unborn child. She is struggling with preterm labor. You can also visit her Blog for more information.
Pray for this young man who was injured in a motorcycle accident.
Pray for JoAnna and Ron You can also visit JoAnna's blog for more information.
Please pray for a woman's grandchildren. Their family is really suffering during these tough economic times.
Please pray for Aiden. Aiden is a little boy who almost drowned in February, 2008. His recovery has been long and hard on his family.
Pray for Baby Ethan.

Please pray for Jesse. Visit her blog for more information.

Pray for Kayleigh and her family.
*Update Kayleigh went home to Jesus on May 10, 2009. Please keep her family in your prayers during this difficult time.

Belief Net's Prayer Circle of the Day

Please Pray for the McCabe Family
This morning I received a text message from a nursery worker saying one of the families from our church lost there house do to a fire. The family happened to be one I have babysat for a couple of years. (Actually posted a picture of the kids a while back on here). I rode by the house minutes ago and the house is gone. Every room was destroyed, so I can image they lost everything. I feel so helpless and so heartbroken that they have to go through this. Please say a pray for them tonight and for the days ahead.

Pray for my husband, Lensey
Today, I ask all the readers for their prayers and positive thoughts. We are believing God to give him favor with men today. I expect a miraculous move of God. Will you guys pray for and expect it with me?

PRAY FOR THE FREEMAN FAMILY!

Pray for the Rine and Pate families

Pray for baby Noah

Have you heard this story?...This is tragic and has stayed with me, please pray for this precious little boy, his family and team of Doctors...pass on the blog address to and help rally prayer warriors everywhere!

www.noahsroad.com
(not sure why the link is not working but please visit anyway and learn his story!)

Pray for Tiffany&Babies 28wks
I asked my new friend, Tiffany, if I could ask you all to pray for her and the 3 miracles she's carrying! She is my neighbors' sister, lives in NC, and is expecting 2girls and 1boy! I'm pretty sure she is at 29 wks tomorrow! The last 2 wks she has been having a lot of contractions and is desperately trying to keep those babies in the oven longer! She has no cervix left so every day is a huge blessing! Please pray for her sanity, thru the ups and downs of this stage of the journey! Peace for her and her hubby. That those babies can stay in for a few more weeks! For a "non-emergency" delivery and the safe deliveries of 3 healthy babies! Thanks so much for praying! We know first hand that God hears these prayers and can and will work miracles!

Pray For Nate Click on his button to learn about Nate's battle with childhood cancer.

Please pray for poor Faith. She spent probably 3/4 of her day crying or whining. I am not sure what is going on with her. If she keeps it up, I will take her to the doctor tomorrow to make sure she is ok. Also pray for patience for me. I spent my morning in tears with her crying in my lap. Her voice is sctatchy from all of the screaming today. I'm off to comfort her again. She is crying in her bed. Ivy League Baby

Please pray for...
On Sunday evening, I learned that my Dad's brother-in-law, my Uncle Joe, had died. It was two months after he had a stroke (my cousin found her Dad on the floor when she came to pick him up for Sunday Mass). I put a prayer request for Uncle Joe and my cousins on the many social networks I participate in: Twitter, Plurk, Facebook, Plaxo and Hi5. And ever since, I have been getting promises of prayer for Uncle Joe from all over the world.
What did the Poor Souls do before the Internet?
Now I have just posted another intention, for "John" (intestinal cancer). This was the friend who played the matchmaker for my sister Mary and her husband. My brother-in-law is taking his friend's grim prognosis very hard. Please pray for him, too.
Wherever you are in the world. Nunblog

Meredith’s story Eight year old Meredith has been in the hospital since April 27th in a medically induced coma. The doctors were baffled for over 3 weeks and didn't know what had caused her seizures and illness.

On May 13, Meredith was diagnosed with Acute Necrotyzing Encephalopathy after being transferred to Cincinnati Children's Hospital the day before.

Please pray for continued strength for Meredith's parents, sister and extended family.

Please Pray for Jessica Hulcy

please pray for Elijah's family... Two weeks ago, I wrote my Saturday post about a little boy named Elijah who has cancer, and I asked for you to pray for him. I do appreciate those prayers that were sent up to the Father on his behalf...Elijah left his earthly home and went to be with the Lord today. I'm sure he's hanging out with Jesus and with the angels

I can't go much into detail my sister in haiti is in dire need of prayer her life may be in danger and my mother is hurting because she can't visit her there pray that my sister will be protected by God's angel both her and her children please ask her to open the doors for my mother to be able to visit my siblings this is really important please pray for her please.

Sister Coreus
Family of God

PLEASE PRAY FOR TJ AND HER TWIN BOYS IN UTERO!

TJ and her husband just found out that the twins she is pregnant with are identical boys that have Twin To Twin Transfusion.
The story starts . . . HERE

and continues . . . HERE

Let her know you are praying for her!

Update from TJ:
"Thank you so much for the prayers! I had no idea just how many people were praying for me!

I'm happy to report that I'm still carrying 2 boys and that all of the tests post surgery look good. We cannot wait to meet our healthy boys, and have prayers and God to thank for them."

Please Pray for baby Joshua~Update #6
My SIL gave birth to baby Joshua this morning but he is having difficulty breathing on his own so I am asking for prayers that he pulls through and for my SIL that she be at peace while separated from him. He is being taken to a hospital that is 1 hr away from our town. My DH and his family and I are on our way to be with him...I will update as soon as I can TIA

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this post...I am running out the door as we speak..Please forgive me!!

I just spoke to my MIL and Joshua's left lung collapsed last night. They had to put a chest tube in. They were going to try and feed him today but decided to wait. Please continue to pray for my little nephew and his momma! She is an hour away from him and still in the hospital. Thank you all for your prayers!!

Please Pray For 13 Year Old Marcus I received a request to pray for Marcus and ask that all who read my blog to please remember him and his family in your prayers.
He has Chiari I Malformation. Go here to keep up with his progress.

Pray for Raegan - Please.
I do not know this family personally, but her mom and I have corresponded in the past. Mom's a hoot!!

Go over to their blog and check out Miss Raegan who is at Cinncinnati Children's Hospital to fix special needs she had when born in China.
http://mississippizen.blogspot.com/

I'm sure it helps soooo much to know folks are "pulling for ya". She is loved. We all just want her to know this!!

Please Pray for Karli
I have been incredibly blessed in my life. I have a wonderful family, an incredible friend network, and so many other blessings. We have all been blessed with safety and good health, for the most part. In my life, I have known people who had cancer, but it was always an acquaintance, a friend's relative or a relative's friend. It has never been my relative or friend.

Yesterday that changed. Karli is a precious 3 1/2 year old little girl with big eyes and curly hair. Her parents, Chris and Beth, are very good friends of ours and we do many, many things together. The guys play softball while us wives and kids watch, we get together for game nights and scrapbooking and nights on the town and Bunco. They are our close friends. They are also our relatives. Chris and Andy are cousins. So besides doing things as friends, we also see each other for holidays and birthday parties and family celebrations. To say we spend a lot of time together is a bit of an understatement.

Karli woke up with a fever yesterday and Beth brought her into the doctor. After determining the cause of the fever was a bladder infection, the doc decided to check her blood to make sure the infection hadn't gone to her kidneys as well. That's when they discovered that her white blood cells and platelets were very low. A call to Children's Hospital soon had them on their way to the Twin Cities for further testing. Last night it was confirmed that she has leukemia and today they'll continue testing to determine what type and how advanced it is.

Please pray for sweet, active, funny little Karli, her parents Chris and Beth, her older sister Kaitlin and her younger brother Brett. They need all the prayers they can get and I know it will mean the world to them. Thank you.

Please pray for Aria
One of the children I tutor in reading at school, Aria (2nd grade), just lost her daddy today to very early onset alzheimers. She also has a sister named Leah and her mom's name is Laura, and if you could remember them in prayer I would be grateful

Pray For A FriendI would like to ask all those who read here to pray for a friend of mine who was seriously injured today. She fell down a long flight of concrete stairs and was helicopter-ed to a hospital. She is suffering from a cracked skull, brain hemoragging, and five broken ribs. She has two young girls and her 9 year old is actually the one who found her at the bottom of the stairs bleeding from both ears.

Please pray for my Dad
Hi friends, just a quick post with a request that any of you praying types out there please send up a few words on behalf of my Dad, Peter. He has been admitted this afternoon to hospital after being sick all week and having chest pains; tests have revealed he has had a minor heart attack.
I know they said minor, but to me, my siblings and especially my mum, this is major.

Our dad is an amazingly fit and healthy 63 year old guy. The thought of our dad laid up in hospital with a heart attack is inconceivable. Please pray especially for my mum. My dad is her best friend; I know she is freaking out right now. I am flying down to be with them first thing in the morning. Thanks in advance for your prayers. :)

We know that we serve a God who is a God of miraculous healing and mighty things. Please pray for her healing, as well as comfort for her girls and husband at this time.

God bless you all tonight... Hug your families a little extra.

In 2007, Kennedy's friend Ashlyn (who happens to have Down syndrome) was battling Leukemia at the same time as Kenn was. Right after Kennedy finished treatment, we took a trip to Michigan where Ashlyn lives and got a chance to visit her in the hospital.
Ashlyn's mom, Nicki, and I compared notes through our journeys. We kept tabs on each other, prayed for each other and rejoiced as each of our children ended treatment. As we slowly edged further and further away from chemo we took comfort in longer breaks between hemonc visits, our daughters hair growing back and normal life resuming, but as is the case with most cancer moms, the dreaded "R" word - relapse - is never far from our minds.

Yesterday Nicki started living out our worst nightmare. Ashlyn has relapsed. Her Leukemia is back. She is back in the hospital and instead of enjoying their Summer, the McFadden family will spend their days helping Ashlyn fight. Again. I have NO doubt in my mind that she will win. Again.

Please please please pray for Ashlyn!!!! Please pray for her mom and dad and big brothers! Please click on the button above and visit her blog and let them know you're praying! Cancer SUCKS!!!!!!
Life With My Special K's

Read Abby's Story Here.

Pray for Kate McRae Find out about Kate McRae's story on Promise's Blog.

Pray for Brayden

Please Pray for Baby Number 5
Yes, we are expecting another baby - we're hoping that this baby will join our family in January. I am 10 weeks and we were actually planning on waiting awhile longer to share this happy news, but unfortunately circumstances that have developed are creating the need for much prayer. This baby's story actually starts back in February.

Most of you know that I was pregnant back then with baby #4. I went to see my doctor at the beginning of Feb. where they took my blood and confirmed the pregnancy and so forth. Then on February 22, baby #4 (whom we named Jeremiah) went to Heaven to be with Felicity. Read More

Pray for Wyatt

My nephew Wyatt was playing with matches and gasoline today, and caught his leg on fire. He has 3rd degree burns on one leg and 2nd degree burns on the other leg. He is being life flighted from West Yellowstone to the Burn Unit at the University of Hospital. I'm here waiting for him to arrive. Waiting is horrible. I've said my personal prayers, but I ask for as many prayers as we can get! Wyatt is such a special young man. We love him. I hate to think of him in pain or scared, and I especially hope his recovery will go as well as possible.

Thank you for your love and support!

Please pray for Marsha, Sasha, and the whole family Marsha is another adoptive mom here in Ukraine. I have directed you to her blog a few times and you have seen her heart. She is a mom that has made every child feel important at the orphanage. She brought something for the children every single day. She brought food or activities for them to play with. She brought a guitar and the children loved playing it and she would play and sing. She danced. She laughed. She hugged. She smiled. All the children loved Marsha. On her birthday, children brought drawings and crafts that they made for her. She broke down walls with the older teenage boys. She told them how much she loved them and how people in America are praying for them. Read More

Pray for this woman's daughter
Oh, Dear Ones, I need you! My daughter called me tonight and is having some problems. Most of you know she is a little over two months pregnant. To protect her, she reads my blog sometimes, I won't go into it all, but would you please say a prayer for her and our baby to be?

When I went to bed last night - I just couldn't go to sleep. I rolled and tossed and prayed and sighed. Mr. Precious even dreamed our daughter called us during the night. I really feel this is God's way of getting our attention even though we didn't know what was going on at the time. At times like this, I pray and that's what I did. When she called tonight and asked how I was, I told her I was tired because I couldn't sleep. She began to cry and said she thought she knew why I couldn't sleep. Isn't it just amazing how closely interwoven our families are?

She's not miscarrying but there is a situation. I believe in prayer and the power of prayer and I know we have many prayer warriors in Blogland ~ so Dear Ones, please pray for our daughter, Angela, and our unborn grand baby.

I love and appreciate you all so much.

Blessings,
Shelia :(

Pray for Hunter!
*Thank you so much for your prayers. Hunter is doing excellent! The hole has filled up and my sister called me with so much excitement today that she was able to feed him and he did wonderful! *

I am an Aunt!! Well, I have been an aunt since I married into the Fever family a few years ago, but my sister just had a baby this week!...and he is soooo cute! Her water broke early wednesday morning and she had a healthy birth around 3am yesterday. A little 5 lb. 8 oz. boy . What a blessing! This was very unexpected because she was not due for another 4 weeks. We were all very surprised. I have never been so anxious waiting all day to know how she was doing and wondering when she was going to actually have this baby. Unfortunately she was not able to hold baby Hunter right away for he was rushed to the NICU because of his trouble breathing with being so early. He has a hole in his lung, but just keeps on improving. Kristin and Josh have been really positive about everything and seem to be doing really well, but we all know it is hard to go through stuff like this. I knew I could count on my blogger readers to be praying for this precious little babe. That is what I love about this online community; all the support and encouragement.
Thanks!

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Pray for Patrick Madrid's Unborn Grandson

His daughter-in-law is 26 weeks pregnant and in danger of premature labour. After spending only five days in the NICU with Gianna, I can tell you it is no fun! It would be really difficult to have to have your baby in there for months. There are updates at his son's blog HERE

Pray for Hope...
I've been away from blogland for a few days...has been a very busy week with out catering business.

I would like to ask you to lift up a sweet friend of mine. She and her husband have been on my heart for several days now. You may already read her blog - if so, I'm sure your heart is hurting for them as well.

My friend, Hope is hurting right now. She was to adopt her son, Isaac, and recently found out that it was all a hoax. Just days before traveling to get her baby boy, she finds out that there is no Isaac. My heart breaks for her and Scott. Please pray for them during this very difficult time.

Pray for a Family
I am going to play reporter here. I also will request you to pray with me for the safety of this family.

As I drove to a discount store in the metro area, I saw a family of a dad, mom and boy about 10 on a 3-person bicycle. They had very small saddle bags on the back. They looked to be traveling very lightly. Read More

Pray for these Police Officers and their families!
On October 31st, shortly after 10:00 p.m., a Field Training Officer (FTO) and his female student officer were parked in their patrol car in the 100 Block of 29th Avenue South. The student officer was seated in the driver’s seat and the FTO was in the passenger seat. A vehicle that has been described as a light-colored sedan pulled up next to the parked patrol car and the suspect(s) fired multiple shots into the patrol car. The Field Training Officer was struck multiple times, killing him. The student officer received minor injuries. She was able to get out of the patrol car, return fire several times to the fleeing suspect vehicle, and call for additional units. Officers from all precincts responded, as well as Homicide and CSI. This investigation is very much active and ongoing, and is a priority for the Department. Information is limited at this time, as it is still early in the investigation. There is a press conference tentatively scheduled for later this afternoon, where we hope to provide additional information.

Emails from readers:

Please pray for my son Isaac. He is almost three years old and has been suffering from seizures for a few months. He has symptoms of a serious syndrome, but not all of the symptoms. Please pray that God would spare him a debilitating illness and would heal him. Please pray for my family and the stress that this is placing on us. Please pray that we would continue to seek God's face in this time. We desire your fervent prayers and will pray for you.

My prayer chain prayer request : Lord I pray and thank you in advance for the restoration of my relationships with Cailin, Dagmara, Olivia, Viola, Marta, Megan,krystal, Stephanie, Michelle, Dana, R., Basia . Lord i pray that you my Lord will soften their hearts towards me, heal their bodies, minds and emotions and that they will see that I love and care about them and i have a caring and receptive heart that I express to them and that they come to me . Lord heal them and help them and give them loving , caring hearts and let them see you in all things. Lord bless them with joy and happiness and I thank you Lord that I was blessed by each one of my girlfriends in the past and will be in the future and now . Lord i pray that I am strong and HEALED and be able to serve the Lord.Lord I pray for the following needs: Deliverance, Health & Healing, Emotional needs met for me and each of my girlfriends and financial needs met through selling house at very high price.Lord let each of my girlfriends be on their knees in prayer to you and rely ing on you for all things. Let their hearts love you . Let them open their hearts and love me .thanks Lord, in Jesus name, amen. Lord banish anxiety and stress and doubts and worry from their hearts and minds and replace it with faith and trust in you., Let only love flourish in them. thanks LORD, in Jesus's name, amen. Lord heal LOIS , Eli, Eli's father and John d's sister and each and everyone of my girlfriends and heal me from head to toe. Praise God. Thanks LORD, in Jesus's name, amen. Everyone pray! Thanks for praying. Thanks everyone. God bless you all, John B.

Find more prayers across the blogosphere here.

MckLinky Links from past weeks.

Please keep me and my family in your prayers during our difficult time. You can read more about my situation here.

If you are planning on listing prayers on your site please add your link so we can find them. Also if you have any updates on the prayers that are listed please update our readers in the comments section. Don't forget to grab the code for your website and add your link to MckLinky if you are listing prayer requests on your blog or have a prayer request you want us to add.

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Happy Halloween from the Healthy Moms [Digg]

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:34:13 PDT

HALLOWEEN SAFETY TIPS FOR KIDSAnytime a child has an accident, it's tragic. The last thing that you want to happen is for your child to be hurt on a holiday, it would forever live in the minds of the child and the family.

House Rules Completed [Digg]

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:29:49 PDT

I had gotten caught up in life . . . in chaos . . . in petty details . . . in breaking up minor scuffles between the boys. I found myself screaming instead of remaining calm.I would find myself praying with the kiddos . . . imploring the

Participants in Clinical Research are in High Demand [Digg]

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:28:46 PDT

Psychotherapy Beats Light Treatment for SAD - Health Profess [Digg]

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:52:15 PDT

THURSDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- As daylight hours dwindle, people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can often feel the onset of wintertime depression, but a new study suggests one type of remedy may work better than another at banishing the SAD bluesspecially designed to treat people with SAD is more effective

Weekend Unwind | Thank You For Your Prayers

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:42:12 PDT

It is the weekend and time to unwind, relieve some stress and discuss the past week. So grab a cup of coffee and join us here at Healthy Moms. What were some of the positive things that happened? What really bothered you? Did you laugh? Cry? Stand on your head? Whatever you did this past week I want to hear it. Writing down all the crazy things that happened over the past week is a good way to deal with stress. As our lives get busier and busier along with it is stress. It is time to let it all out so you can enjoy your weekend. If you don't have time to write all about your week just answer the Weekend Unwind question found at the bottom of this article. Grab the button code, make your blog post and don't forget to leave your link with MckLinky.

I would like to thank all of my readers for their prayers and support. If you didn't read my article on our current situation it can be found here.

After sharing my situation I received a ton of positive feedback from wonderful people like you. Sometimes I hit such a low point and it makes me feel helpless. Knowing that there are people out there who truly care makes a big difference.

I want to send a special thank you out to these bloggers who took the time to mention me on their blogs:

Melanie from Ramblings of a Wannabe Writer
The folks at Mommy Blips
Carrie from Growing a Baby (or two) in Seattle
Marissa at Five Minutes for Mom
Kristy from Kristy's Notes
The Jacobson Family

I apologize if I missed anyone.

Here is a quick update on what is going on over here. God truly answers our prayers. The day after I made that blog post I was inspired. I've decided to make major improvements to this website (more details later). And I believe it was God speaking to me. So I went online and did some research and contacted professionals to help me out. My dream is going to come true soon and I am so excited. I wish I could share all the details with you guys, but I need to wait until it is all figured out and up and running. All I am going to say is, what I have planned is going to be a lot of fun and it will help us to spread our message.

The second exciting thing that has happened to us is Chris has a huge job lead. He just got done with his third interview with a very promising company. Now we just have to wait and see if he gets the job.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support! Keep praying that this website will make a difference in the lives of families.

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Happy Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:08:20 PDT

Happy Halloween from all of us here at Healthy Moms

Here are some Halloween Safety tips from Halloween Safety Guide.com.

HALLOWEEN SAFETY TIPS FOR KIDS

Anytime a child has an accident, it's tragic. The last thing that you want to happen is for your child to be hurt on a holiday, it would forever live in the minds of the child and the family.

There are many ways to keep your child safe at Halloween, when they are more prone to accidents and injuries. The excitement of children and adults at this time of year sometimes makes them forget to be careful. Simple common sense can do a lot to stop any tragedies from happening.
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Help your child pick out or make a costume that will be safe. Make it fire proof, the eye holes should be large enough for good peripheral vision.
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If you set jack-o-lanterns on your porch with candles in them, make sure that they are far enough out of the way so that kids costumes won't accidentally be set on fire.
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Make sure that if your child is carrying a prop, such as a scythe, butcher knife or a pitchfork, that the tips are smooth and flexible enough to not cause injury if fallen on.
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Kids always want to help with the pumpkin carving. Small children shouldn't be allowed to use a sharp knife to cut the top or the face. There are many kits available that come with tiny saws that work better then knives and are safer, although you can be cut by them as well. It's best to let the kids clean out the pumpkin and draw a face on it, which you can carve for them.
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Treating your kids to a spooky Halloween dinner will make them less likely to eat the candy they collect before you have a chance to check it for them.
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Teaching your kids basic everyday safety such as not getting into cars or talking to strangers, watching both ways before crossing streets and crossing when the lights tell you to, will help make them safer when they are out Trick or Treating.

Make Halloween a fun, safe and happy time for your kids and they'll carry on the tradition that you taught them to their own families some day!

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Fun Adventure Teaches Children About the Digestive System

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:19:24 PDT

Dr. Heather Manley, a naturopathic physician licensed in the state of Hawaii has put together this wonderful adventure workbook and audio CD about two sisters, Merrin and Pearl, who travel through their baby brother's digestive system to take out a penny that he has swallowed. The Human Body Detectives is designed for homeschooling parents, families and teachers as a tool to teach their kids about science and the human body.

The first book in the series, The Lucky Escape, comes complete with stickers and fun activities for kids ages 6-12. Your child will have fun while learning about the digestive system and how it works.

The workbook also has helpful information on healthy food choices. Dr. Manley encourages children to eat a colorful variety of foods. She also explains what each color does for your health. For example, "red foods support the immune system, protect your brain, and are anti-inflammatory."

My children loved the story and the book is also a lot of fun and teaches about the digestive system and eating right. I am looking forward to listening to more creative adventures in this series.

You can win your own copy of The Lucky Escape by following Dr. Manley on twitter or becoming a fan of The Human Body Detectives on facebook and leaving a comment here at Healthy Moms. You must become a facebook fan or follow her on twitter first.

For extra entries:

Follow Me on Twitter

Subscribe to Healthy Moms

Follow This blog with Google Friend Connect

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E mail the link to our site or this contest to a friend (make sure you BCC talbertcascia @ yahoo dot com so I have proof of the e mail)

Grab our button for your site.

Join our Blog Frog Community

Add Healthy Moms to your blogroll.

Blog about this contest. Make sure you include a link back.

For every entry including extra entries please leave a separate comment. Winners will be chosen randomly from the comments and e mails that I receive. The contest ends on November 9, 2009 at midnight PST.

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House Rules Completed

thegranolamom4god@gmail.com (GranolaMom4God) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:24:42 PDT

Joy is returning to my mothering.

I had gotten caught up in life . . . in chaos . . . in petty details . . . in breaking up minor scuffles between the boys. I found myself screaming instead of remaining calm.

I got convicted. I want my children to have self-control, yet I raise my voice, throw things, and slam doors?

I would find myself praying with the kiddos . . . imploring them to ask God for help to control their behavior. Yet, I acted like a 2 year old. My behavior was only teaching them that if God couldn't help me act like and adult, how on earth could He help them share a toy?

Rather than continuing with my lunacy, the Hottie Hubby and I sat down last weekend with our son, and asked him what he thought our rules were.

If you will remember, several weeks ago, I mentioned that we were embarking on setting up some rules of the house. We wanted to create an easily memorized standard by which behavior could be measured and molded.

I needed this structure more than the children.

And we didn't even come up with the list . . . our oldest son did!

Are you ready?

Love God.
Honor your parents. (Honor means to prize or to treat with special value.)
Love each other. (Yes, that means your brother.)
Show respect for our things.
No whining, arguing, complaining, or fighting.

If one of these rules is broken, that automatically results in a time-out that lasts as long as their age. So if they are 3 . . . then you sit on your chair for 3 minutes.

If they still didn't learn their lesson, and break one of the rules immediately afterward then we employ a punishment. A punishment can mean a spanking (sorry to step on any one's toes--but it is in the Bible, which is my plumb line), picking a job from a chore jar, or the toy or whatever is fostering the disruption being removed for a designated time.

At first, giving my child a chore really bothered me. But look at it this way. Completing a chore is altering the negative behavior. I am giving them something else to do that is important to our family.

Let me further shed some light by an example. You discipline yourself by exercising and eating smaller portions. But let's say that you have a tendency to snack. Instead of eating the chocolate bar, you replace this behavior with a cup of hot tea. Chores in the context of parenting or life, are supposed to be positive. Rather than placing my child back into the situation that is causing him to stumble, I am going to give him a new task to focus on. Replace a bad habit or behavior with something positive. Retrain the thought process. Make sense?

However, we need to come up with age-appropriate chores still.

And I still am waiting for every one's list!

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Participants in Clinical Research Projects are in High Demand

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:35:46 PDT

Many Americans don't know much about clinical research or how it benefits in the fight against major disease. Participants in clinical research projects are needed to help conquer diseases like cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, heart disease and stroke.

Clinical research has helped reduce the percentage of Americans suffering from these major diseases. For example, heart disease is down 4.7 percent, cancer is down 1.8 percent, stroke is down 4.6 percent, diabetes is down 3.9 percent and influenza and pneumonia is down 8.4 percent (source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics Report August 19, 2009).

Participation in clinical research is down which is leaving a negative impact on the development of new drugs, cures and therapies.

ClinicalResearch.com is a new website for people who have little or no understanding of clinical research and the value it brings to society. Patients can look up ongoing or future clinical trials appropriate for their disease or condition and narrow them down to those close to where they live.

For more information on clinical research watch this informative video or visit the links below.

Advance Health through Clinical Research on Facebook
Clinical Research on Twitter
Clinical Research on YouTube

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Ready, Set, Slow

noreply@blogger.com (Debi Silber, "The Mojo Coach") — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:01:14 PDT

When it comes to lasting weight loss, slow and steady wins the race.

Although many people take on the latest diet program, quick fix or promise of immediate results, most only find themselves right back where they started in a relatively short period of time. In fact, most people who take drastic measures to lose weight not only gain back what they lost, but gain even more leaving them more discouraged and frustrated with each attempt.

Why do we continue to put our time, effort and energy into the “quick fix” and why doesn’t it work?

Dieting doesn’t work for many reasons. The first reason is that drastic steps are temporary...at best. It isn't realistic to commit into a 7-day-a-week exercise program if we haven't been exercising at all or to think that we can drastically reduce our calories for the long term if we have many eating behaviors that caused the weight gain in the first place. If the changes we make can’t comfortably be worked into our day, our routine, our lifestyles and our lives, whatever we take on isn’t likely to continue. We may be able to commit to an overhaul in food choices or eating behaviors for a short while but when confronted with something that triggers us to overeat or abandon our best efforts, we will immediately go back to what is familiar and comfortable.

What is familiar and comfortable? Our habits. Whether they’re good or bad they’re what we’re comfortable with. That’s why when we want to lose weight those habits which originally caused the weight gain must be changed. We’ve all heard the saying “habits are hard to break” and because that’s true, a slow and steady approach needs to be used to develop new, healthier habits to replace the old, unhealthy ones.

So how do we break the habits which lead us to gain weight?

One thing we need to look at is our “diet mentality.” For many moms, we’re either on or off a diet at any given time. If we have that “all or nothing” or “black or white” extreme behavior when it comes to weight loss, there’s no room for error and no way to recover from any mistakes made along the way. If the road to weight loss doesn’t allow for some imperfection, it is unrealistic to think that we can stick it out for the long haul.

Life throws us some curveballs from time to time, that’s a given. How we handle those curveballs may require some adjustments to our eating plan. If our eating plan doesn’t allow for those adjustments, where does that leave us?

It leaves us right off our diet. Angry, frustrated and discouraged, we revert right back to what is so deeply ingrained within us. Any progress made is abandoned and for many moms, here’s where the negative self talk takes us even further away from believing weight loss success is possible as we berate ourselves with every bite of foods we’ve sworn off for good. So, if this sounds so familiar and you’ve had enough of “yo-yo dieting”, weight cycling and diet behavior, what can you do?

1) Understand that each time you start an unrealistic diet, you chip away at your confidence and belief in your ability that you can lose weight. The more you chip away at that confidence, the less you trust yourself and the more powerless you become.

2) Understand that although it doesn’t sound as appealing as a “miracle cure” or “immediate solution”, weight loss is a journey. The more you discover why you gained the weight and understand that your habits can and need to be changed, the more weight loss success you’ll have.

3) Focus on the fact that each habit you change serves as a stepping stone to greater confidence, trust and belief in yourself. When we isolate a habit we want to change, put our efforts into finding a solution to turn that habit into one that better suits us, we feel proud and happy with our ability to take control of our eating and our behavior. That simply feels good and enables us to see that our choices and decisions are within our control. It brings about a feeling of strength and empowerment as well as increases our confidence and self esteem.

When we feel confident, strong and empowered, we’re proud of ourselves and realize that anything is within our grasp. While it may be more exciting to believe that drastic efforts bring huge results, when it comes to weight loss, the greatest results are found by making the most minimal...but consistent changes.

Do you have any tips or tricks that have worked for you to stay motivated on a slow, steady course toward a healthier lifestyle? Share them here in the comments or drop me a note!

Debi Silber, "The Mojo Coach"
www.TheMojoCoach.com

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Have You Visited Us on the Blog Frog?

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:54:38 PDT

The Blog Frog is a hot new social media site for bloggers and blog readers. Healthy Moms is proud to be a part of this popular growing community. Haven't heard of the Blog Frog yet? Here's what they have to say on their website,

TheBlogFrog brings social features like you would find on other social networks (like Facebook) to Blogs!

If you are a blog author, you can install "social widgets" on your blog that let you and your readers interact with each other.

If you are a blog reader, you can participate in "blog communities" where all the readers of a blog interact with each other. This is much more fun than just commenting on what the blog author happens to post about that day!

TheBlogFrog can also help you find new blogs to follow. It goes beyond the standard topic recommendations and helps you find blogs written by people you know from High School, College, Email, and more. TheBlogFrog will even look at the current blogs you follow and suggest new blogs to follow!
How does it work?

After you sign up for TheBlogFrog, you begin connecting with blogs and blog communities. If you have a blog, TheBlogFrog will connect you with the blogs you link to on your own blog. You can start finding new blogs and participating in blog communities. If you have a blog, you can even install a whole community for your blog.

After you sign up, you can enter in private profile information like High School and College. This information is not shared with others and is only used to connect you with other bloggers from your life.

Healthy Moms has our own BlogFrog Community where our readers and bloggers can interact with each other though a forum, twitter tweets and blog posts. If you haven't joined the BlogFrog yet I encourage you to visit and join today!

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Tips on How to Control Your Sugar Intake [Digg]

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:40:01 PDT

With Halloween and other holidays on the horizon, I want to be sure to control my own sugar intake.How about you? What are your eating habits when it comes to sugar? Do you read labels? Do you realize how much sugar is actually in items that we don't consider "sweet"?

Control Your Sugar Intake

getfitjenn@comcast.net (Coach Jenn) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:19:20 PDT

I was watching Dr. Oz the other day and his guest was a woman with a major sugar addiction. Through the foods she consumed, she was ingesting about 84 tablespoons of sugar daily. Can you believe it? With Halloween and other holidays on the horizon, I want to be sure to control my own sugar intake.

How about you? What are your eating habits when it comes to sugar? Do you read labels? Do you realize how much sugar is actually in items that we don't consider "sweet"? Take pasta sauce for example; one serving can have 11 grams of sugar or more. Even the breads we eat often contain sugar. I just checked a bag of sandwich rolls and they contain 7 grams each. So, while we may feel that a few cookies or ice cream is not that bad, we need to consider our sugar intake for the entire day before we splurge on dessert.

Many of us tend to have a sweet tooth in the late afternoon or after dinner. Try to track the amount of sugar that your are eating the rest of the day so that a small treat is not putting you over the edge. While there is no RDA (recommended daily allowance) for sugar, the Department of Agriculture does recommend that sugar intake not exceed 8% of our daily diet. For an average woman, that is approximately 40 grams.

It can be cumbersome to spend your entire day reading labels; and if you get food on the run, there is often no label for reference. Keep the following tips in mind to help reduce your overall sugar intake:

Skip the soda!

This is a sugar bomb! Drink water with a little lemon or lime for flavor.

Eat healthy foods first.

Load up on the healthy stuff containing fiber and complex carbohydrates. Nuts and proteins are a great option. You'll feel full and satisfied and have fewer cravings.

Try a low-sugar sweet like dark chocolate.
A good dark chocolate does not have sugar as the first ingredient. It also contains healthy antioxidants. Remember that a small piece goes a long way. Savor each bite.

I hope this article has helped you to consider your daily sugar intake. Take some steps to modify your diet. Let us know what other ideas you have to help reduce sugar in your diet and combat cravings.

Until next week, have a safe, happy and healthy week ahead.

-Coach Jenn of Team Beachbody and PersonalFitCoach.com

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Wordless Wednesday | Hide and Seek

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:30:32 PDT

Can you find the sleeping boy?

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Is Smoking Tougher on Women?

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:59:36 PDT

Research suggests they're more susceptible to dangers of tobacco

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

SUNDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Women may be more vulnerable than men to the carcinogens and other noxious substances in cigarette smoke, a growing body of research suggests.

In one study of nearly 700 people with lung cancer, Swiss experts found that women tended to be younger when they received the diagnosis, even though they smoked less than the men who developed lung cancer.

In another study, researchers from Harvard University and the University of Bergen in Norway evaluated more than 950 men and women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD), known to be linked to smoking. The result: The women with COPD were younger when they got the diagnosis and had smoked less than the men with the respiratory ailment.

"Maybe women are more susceptible to the lung-damaging effects of smoking," said Dr. Inga-Cecilie Soerheim, a visiting research fellow at Harvard and a researcher at the University of Bergen, who led the COPD study. She presented the findings in May at the American Thoracic Society's annual conference.

In fact, several other studies in the past 20 years have suggested that female smokers may be more susceptible to lung cancer than male smokers.

And Soerheim and her colleague, Dr. Dawn L. DeMeo, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, found that, in 2000, the number of women dying from COPD surpassed the number of men, although the researchers aren't sure why.

However, Dr. Michael Thun, the emeritus director of epidemiology research at the American Cancer Society, isn't as quick to embrace the theory that women are more susceptible to lung cancer.

"The actual evidence suggests that men and women are remarkably similar in their risk of developing lung cancer -- with or without smoking," he said.

But, Thun added, "the types of lung cancer they get are different," referring to the sites in the lung where the cancer is likely to occur in women and men.

Addressing the new COPD research, which seems to say that women are more vulnerable, Thun said other factors might be at play. They include women's longer life expectancy, thus making them more likely to develop the condition.

Thun said the focus on possible gender differences is missing the point. Instead, he said, health experts -- and the public -- need to focus on what is certain: that smoking is an enormous contributor to both lung cancer and COPD.

"If they [smokers] quit before age 50, they avoid most of the risk," he said, citing published research.

And once they do quit, Thun said, women and men can move on to other known ways to reduce their risk for lung cancer, such as avoiding exposure to secondhand smoke.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women in the United States. More people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined, according to the American Cancer Society.

The society estimates that there will be more than 219,000 new cases of lung cancer diagnosed this year and that 159,390 people will die from the disease.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more on smoking and lung cancer.

SOURCES: Michael Thun, M.D., emeritus director of epidemiological research, American Cancer Society, Atlanta; Dawn L. DeMeo, M.D., M.P.H., researcher, Channing Laboratory, and assistant professor, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, B

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Potty Time Tuesday | Never Give Up

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:52:09 PDT

Potty training can be a long process for some children. If you believe that your child is taking longer to understand the concept than you expected, don't worry he will catch on. Every child is different and potty training can be a challenge for some. Don't give up.

If you are consistent and have patience your little one will become a master of the potty. Sometimes as parents we get frustrated and want to just give up if our child doesn't understand. The other day I felt that way with my two year old. But that is when I reminded myself that it is alright. He will get it soon. I just have to be consistent and never give up.

Potty training is a process and children are not all going to "get it" in a matter of days. It takes months for some.

Did you find this information helpful? If you are looking for more ideas on how to potty train your child visit the Healthy Moms Guide to Potty Training.

Are you potty training your child? Maybe you have some potty training tips you would like to share with your readers. If so join us every Tuesday for Potty Time Tuesdays and don't forget to leave your link!

Grab the Potty Time Tuesdays Code

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Some parents reportedly exposing healthy kids to those already sick with the H1N1 flu

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:07 PDT

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- While most people are doing all they can to avoid the swine flu, some groups of people are said to be actively seeking it out.

These are parents who are reportedly arranging swine flu "parties" -- similar to chicken pox or measles parties -- so their healthy children can be exposed to the virus through kids who are already sick with the H1N1 flu.

Health experts theorize that the rationale may be to give a child the swine flu while it's still relatively mild, before it mutates into something more virulent. But, so far, all indications point to the H1N1 virus staying as mild to moderate as when it first appeared in the spring.

Or perhaps parents think that the disease is somehow better than unknown side effects associated with the H1N1 vaccine. But, there appear to be no untoward side effects associated with the shot other than redness, tenderness and swelling at the injection site, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But health experts are universal in their condemnation of the practice of swine flu parties.

"Any time you willingly subject your children to an infectious disease, you run the risk of all sorts of complications," said Dr. Tamara Kuittinen, an emergency medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "There's always a risk of giving them more than you bargained for. It may be dangerous."

Added Dr. Robert Frenck, a professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital: "It's not anything I would advocate for swine flu or any flu. Most of the time the flu is a mild illness, but it can be severe. People die from H1N1 and from the regular flu."

Swine flu parties could prove particularly risky because the H1N1 flu, unlike seasonal flu, tends to target children and young adults. According to data collected by the CDC from 28 states from Sept. 1 to Oct. 10, nearly 24 percent of deaths were among people under age 25, about 65 percent of deaths were among those 25 to 64, and only 11.6 percent of the deaths were among people aged 65 and older.

During the same six-week period, 27 states reported 4,958 people hospitalized with H1N1 swine flu, and more than half -- 53 percent -- were under the age of 25.

Despite questions in some quarters about the safety of the H1N1 vaccine now being rolled out, the shot is actually the best way to protect your child against the swine flu, said Dr. Nathan Litman, director of pediatrics and chief of pediatric infectious diseases at The Children's Hospital, Montefiore Medical Center, in New York City.

"It should totally prevent them from acquiring influenza and, if they do get sick, they would have a milder illness," he said.

Vaccination will also prevent others from falling ill: Children who contract the swine flu at a party not only run the risk of getting sick themselves, they can also pass it on to others who might be at greater risk of complications, Litman added.

"When you have a good match between the vaccine and the virus circulating, you have 90 percent or more protection against the disease," Frenck said.

More information

Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on the swine flu, including the centers' take on swine flu parties.

SOURCES: Tamara R. Kuittinen, M.D. emergency medicine physician, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; Robert Frenck, M.D., professor, pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital; Nathan Litman, M.D., director, pediatrics, and chief, pediatric infectious dis

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How to Choose the Right Breast Pump [Digg]

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:18:01 PDT

There are several breast pumps on the market today. Choosing the right one may be confusing. Some women know how to manually express breast milk by hand and may not need a breast pump. Although, a lot of women find it easier to use a breast pump for milk storage.

A Chat with Bob Harper [Digg]

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:13:11 PDT

lead trainers on The Biggest Loser TV show. When Bob first began his career in personal training, he had no idea it would take off in such a huge way. Although Bob is a big TV star now, he really seems down to earth and was extremely open and honest during our phone chat.

Household Insecticides May Be Linked to Autoimmune Diseases [Digg]

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:01:34 PDT

MONDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests a link between women's exposure to household insecticides -- including roach and mosquito killers -- and the autoimmune disorders rheumatoid arthritisand lupus.

Clues to Hypertension in Kids May Be Seen in Bones [Digg]

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:58:13 PDT

New research links high blood pressure in children to bones that are more mature than average, suggesting that advanced bone age may predict cardiovascular problems.

Julie Wilcoxson's Blog [Digg]

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:53:16 PDT

Interview of blogger, mom, Certified Personal Trainer with American Council on Exercise, Author and creator of Transformations 4 Life, Julie Wilcoxson.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind [Digg]

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:43:25 PDT

Do you notice how you tend to grab more food or snacks just because the're sitting out on the counter? How about when you wrap up delicious leftovers from a holiday or party and it's just a little too easy to find them when the craving calls? Here are some tips for making the food a little less accessible

Hooray for Giveaways! | 10/26 - 11/2 [Digg]

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:36:32 PDT

Enter these great contests and win cool prizes. If you are hosting a giveaway on your website you can also list it here for free!

Cocoa in Chocolate May Be Good for the Heart [Digg]

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:31:44 PDT

If you're tempted to raid your child's Halloween candy stash at the end of this month, here's one reason you might not have to restrain yourself.

Jordin Sparks to host charitable online event for teen girls

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:22:38 PDT

Jordin Sparks to host charitable online event for teen girls!

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:10:50 PDT

Always and Tampax are sponsoring, "America's Biggest Sleepover," an online event for teen girls to help raise money for the Protecting Futures program, which helps girls in developing regions stay in school.

The nationwide, online event will be hosted on November 7 on beinggirl.com.

"America's Biggest Sleepover" will feature:
- An exclusive performance from Jordin Sparks
- Q&A with Jordin from beinggirl.com members
- Sleepover party tips including recipes, fun games and hairstyles

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Cocoa in Chocolate May Be Good for the Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:36:00 PDT

By Jennifer Thomas
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Oct. 23 (HealthDay News) -- If you're tempted to raid your child's Halloween candy stash at the end of this month, here's one reason you might not have to restrain yourself.

Spanish researchers put 42 men and women on a diet that included 40 grams of unsweetened cocoa powder (about 1.4 ounces) mixed with skim milk daily, or plain skim milk. After one month, those who drank the cocoa-flavored milk had lower levels of inflammatory markers associated with heart disease than those drinking the milk alone.

That result was critical because the participants, whose average age was about 70, were at high risk of cardiovascular disease because they had diabetes and three or more risk factors for heart disease, including smoking, high blood pressure, high levels of LDL "bad" cholesterol (more than 160 milligrams per deciliter), low levels of HDL "good" cholesterol (below 35 milligrams per deciliter), obesity or a family history of early coronary heart disease.

The inflammatory markers, called adhesion molecules, are proteins that cause white blood cells to stick to the walls of the arteries, which can lead to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, explained Shelley McGuire, an associate professor of food science and nutrition at Washington State University and a spokeswoman for the American Society for Nutrition.

"One of the major strengths of the study was they were measuring adhesion molecules, which we have recently learned are very important in the formation of atherosclerosis," McGuire said. "Another strength is that the study was randomized and controlled. Because of this, we can pretty confidently say there was something in the cocoa powder that had an effect."

The researchers also found that the cocoa powder group had an increase in HDL cholesterol, which can help reduce levels of LDL cholesterol and has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant properties.

The study is published in the November issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

During the study, participants didn't take additional vitamins or supplements, and the only cocoa-containing products they consumed were those provided by researchers.

Previous research has suggested chocolate may be beneficial for heart health because it contains anti-inflammatory chemicals called polyphenols. Polyphenols are also found in wine, coffee and tea, along with fruits and vegetables such as apples, broccoli, onions, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, strawberries, plums and red grapes, said Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis.

"One of the best ways to get plenty of polyphenols is to consume lots of fruits and vegetables," Diekman said.

The researchers noted the anti-inflammatory effects derived from cocoa were modest compared to those observed for other foods rich in polyphenols, such as wine.

And before you start inhaling candy bars, which are high in fat and calories, researchers noted that study participants were given non-fat, sugar-free cocoa powder and skim milk. Even then, they gained a small amount of weight.

In the study, the chocolate milk contained about 136 calories. If adding cocoa to your diet, be sure to reduce calories somewhere else, or get some extra exercise.

"My recommendation, as a registered dietitian, would be for people to look at cocoa -- whether in the form of cocoa or chocolate -- as a part of a healthful eating plan, not a magic bullet for reducing inflammation," Diekman said. "If including cocoa and small amounts of chocolate in an otherwise healthful eating plan helps people enjoy what they eat and stick with that plan, then these things can fit."

In findings that should come as no surprise, researchers noted that "adherence to the dietary protocol was excellent."

More information

The National Confectioners Association has more on cocoa.
SOURCES: Connie Diekman, M.Ed., R.D., director, university nutrition, Washington University, St. Louis; Shelley McGuire, Ph.D., associate professor, food science & human nutrition, Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., and spokeswoman, American

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Hooray for Giveaways! | 10/26 - 11/2

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:44:58 PDT

It's time again to celebrate giveaways! List yours here or if you want to enter one they are just a click away.

Giveaways Here at Healthy Moms

Visit Healthy Moms every day to enter to win a new appliance from GE!

Enter to win a Baby Skin Care product from Exederm.

Recent Giveaway Winners

The winner of the Snaxx Recipe box is

jennymartin116 said...
October 13, 2009 1:17 PM

What a cool idea--I hate arguing about snacks!

Congratulations, Jenny. I will be in touch with you to get your mailing address.
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Find an Herbalife Distributor Near You

noreply@blogger.com (Cascia) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:11:26 PDT

The Herbal Nutrition Network is dedicated to helping you find the best nutritional products and support from independent Herbalife distributors. Herbal Life is an international company and a leader in herbal nutrition.

You can search the online database at Herbal Nutrition Network to find an Herbalife Distributor near you or information about their line of products.

Herbalife Distributors can also benefit from the Herbal Nutrition Network. For only $12 a month distributors can list their information in their database. The database also includes distributors from Herbalife International. If you are looking for a low cost way to advertise your Herbalife business or searching for a distributor near you take a look at this great resource.

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How do you Choose the Right Time to Start Potty Training

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:51:15 PDT

When to start? It could be the million dollar question.It is best to make sure your child understands what is expected of him or her before starting potty training.